CHAPTER ONE

PREFACE

Why am I interested in the genealogy of the Goodrum family?  Perhaps the following will explain:  On June 5, 1918, my mother, my sister and I were on our way from our little home in Allen County to Temperance, one of Simpson County's most highly patronized country stores.There anyone could buy everything from a spool of thread, just the right shade, to a carpet that would cover the whole floor.  And we were on our way for that very purpose.  Mother wanted a new carpet for our parlor floor.

We drove old Dan, the buggy horse, at a fast trot, over the hills and through the hollows.  Suddenly Roy,  my sister's beau, driving a flashy young mare, appeared alongside our buggy. Very politely, he asked if Zula would care to ride with him.  Unsuspecting his plan, Mother gave her consent.  My sister alighted from one vehicle and rode away in another.  Then laying the whip across his mare's sides, the young lovers were off in a flash.  Roy's friend was waiting near old Cold Water Church in his Model T Ford to carry them to Mitchellesville, Tennessee where they were married.

Cars were rare in those days an when the engine's popping and spluttering reached poor Mother's ears she realized what was happening but, alas, it was too late.  Forgetting what might become of her sixteen month old baby and old Dan, she became hysterical.  Screaming and crying, we remained on that secluded country road until the newly-weds returned.

Yes, they found us on the Old Hollow Road and my sister and now husband saw us home that unforgettable June day.  From then on, my brother in-law was a son, a brother, and a loved one in our family.  He and Zula became the parents of a lovely daughter and four fine sons.  They enjoyed a happy life together for twenty-six years. 

Tragedy struck on July 30, 1944.  Roy Goodrum was killed by a bolt of lightning.

Ah, the day was bright and we were happy and gay,
We knew not the sorrow that was heading our way.
A cloud then appeared directly overhead,
And tears of sadness it caused us to shed.

Yes, there he sat under a tree,
Jovial and happy in good health was he.
He did not know that God had a plan,
And was sending an angel to pick just the right man.

Then the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled,
And our dearly Beloved had given his soul,
In a lonely graveyard he lies today,
The voice is still that once was so gay.

Yet often I hear him as he speaks to me,
Perhaps it's imagination but it's plain as can be.
Yes his spirit seems to guide me when the going is tough,
He always tried to guide me when the way was rough.

We miss him; we need him, that brother so dear,
His presence in Heaven is sadly missed here.

By - Mildred Ackerman Jent-1968